Comment

This book begins with a good overview of the history of yoga. It then presents a factual analysis of yoga, dispelling myths and claims, and providing scientific reasons for yoga's benefits and its drawbacks. There is a lot of unsubstantiated hype about yoga that this book does a good job of refuting. As a casual practitioner I found myself intrigued to study further the relaxation techniques shown to have proven health benefits.

I thought the book did bring to light important historical events about the origins of yoga, and the controversial Hatha meaning.
Very interesting research results about breathing, and carbon dioxide saturation of the body to slow metabolism. He lightly addressed the benefits of breathing, not a lot of research.

As a dedicated yogini, I found this book useful for learning the scientific research on yoga. Quite a few surprises for me such as: risk of stroke from poorly holding certain poses and also slowed down metabolism.